Red Bull Air Race: Fort Worth

Why Is This Important?

The Red Bull Air Race is the most spectacular motor sport in the world.

Long Story Short

Paul Bonhomme edged out Matt Hall to win the Red Bull Air Race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Sunday. The Championship will come down to the final race in Las Vegas, where both Bonhomme and Hall will have the chance to claim the title.

Long Story

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is a terrifying and exhilarating sport. It, honestly, makes F1 and NASCAR look like child's play. In NASCAR, cars drive around on an oval for a couple hours. In the Air Race, pilots hit speeds of 230 mph; must fly in three dimensions; and have to deal with up to 10Gs of force while trying to remember which way is up. Oh, and they're also flying planes through massive 82-foot tall pylons.

This year, the Championship is comprised of eight races in Abu Dhabi, Chiba, Rovinj, Budapest, Ascot, Spielberg, Fort Worth and Las Vegas. The UK's Paul Bonhomme dominated the majority of the season, having now picked up wins in four cities in the Master Class category. He earned a victory at the Texas Motor Speedway with a final lap time of 55.285 seconds, besting Australian Matt Hall, who currently sits in second place in the overall standings, by a mere 0.767 seconds.

Pilots must fly their planes through a series of pylons, while maintaining the proper height, angle and speeds.

Germany's Matthias Dolderer was fastest during qualifying but couldn't keep that momentum going through the final day.

Local favorite Kirby Chambliss finished in 11th. The Texan had added new winglets to his plane in order to reduce drag but it wasn't enough to earn him a top spot.

Bonhomme now has a total of 67 points, while Hall sits at 59. If Bonhomme struggles in the season's final race in Las Vegas on October 18th, Hall can still win the overall Championship but needs the 12 points that come with a first place finish. It's hard to imagine Bonhomme missing out on one of the top spots, however, as he's finished strong in six out of seven races this year (he struggled in Rovinj, Croatia where he only earned a single point).

“Let’s see what happens in Las Vegas,” Bonhomme told reporters after the race.

The finals will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. ET.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: How do people not die every race?Disrupt Your Feed: This is way more exciting than NASCAR.Drop This Fact: Flying through a pair of pylons at the wrong height or angle can cost a pilot two seconds. Hitting a pylon adds three seconds to the final time or possibly a DNF.